ANXIETY
When it is no longer helpful
Anxiety in-and-of-itself is not a pathology. Anxiety starts the protective response to danger that boosts heartbeat and breathing, pumping oxygenated blood to your muscles as your body prepares to fight or flee. A bit of healthy anxiety can help you finish work on time, push you to study hard for an exam, or discourage you from taking a dangerous risk. However, suppose anxiety is persistent, excessive, or often triggered by situations that are not an actual threat. In that case, you may benefit from seeing a therapist to help counteract these more severe forms of anxiety.
At Along the Path, we often work with people that display symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety, Phobias, and Panic Disorders. We work with our clients to lessen anxiety through a variety of approaches such as mind-body techniques, assisting in lifestyle changes, as we as psychotherapeutic interventions such as ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy), and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).
Often, we find using a combination of approaches to be beneficial. Such as relieving anxiety with Mindfulness while also using CBT or exposure therapy to strengthen coping skills and help retrain the brain to make anxiety more manageable.